Chapter 9 - The Trial of Myers Park
Three weeks passed.
The story of the "Myers Park Fraudster" blew up across Charlotte financial news. Derek’s arrest uncovered a mountain of forged documents, illegal offshore transfers, and multiple civil suits from clients he had defrauded.
Out on bail—funded by his wealthy, embarrassed parents who had mortgaged their own home to post his bond—Derek tried one final, desperate maneuver.
He hired a trashy tabloid attorney and filed a civil countersuit against me, alleging that I had used "undue influence" and "fraudulent trust manipulation" to steal the condo from him and orchestrate his corporate firing. He even went on local news, claiming I was an "unstable, senile mother-in-law" who had fabricated the assault to ruin his marriage.
The media turned up at the gates of The Pinnacle Towers, eager for a scandalous story about high-society betrayal.
On the morning of the preliminary court hearing, I walked down the steps of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. Microphones were shoved in my face, flashbulbs blinding. Derek stood on the courthouse steps with his lawyer, smirking, convinced he had created enough public noise to force a settlement.
"Mrs. Collins!" a reporter shouted. "Is it true you orchestrated your son-in-law's downfall out of spite?"
I stopped. I didn't hide behind a handbag or rely on Arthur Vance to speak for me. I turned directly to the bank of news cameras.
"Derek Vance claims I am senile," I said, my voice echoing across the plaza. "He claims I fabricated his violence. So let us let the building's security system speak for itself."
Arthur Vance pressed a button on his tablet. Immediately, high-definition video footage was broadcast to every news network's live feed—footage retrieved from the smart-refrigerator’s internal security camera that Derek himself had installed months prior.
The video was crystal clear. It showed Derek snarling, grabbing me by the shoulders, and violently slamming my 70-year-old frame into the steel appliances, shouting abuse while I collapsed onto the floor.
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The crowd of reporters gasped in horror.
Derek’s smirk vanished instantly. His lawyer turned to him, horrified, and immediately stepped away from his client.
